Citation

Wang HZ, Chen MH. Int. J. Jpn. Sociol. 2017; 26(1): 52-66.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/ijjs.12063

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In contemporary Taiwan, arranged marriage seems a remote legend. However, the mainstream ideology of romantic love and marriage is a recent phenomenon that started only half a century ago. The debate on love and marriage that took place a hundred years ago has been reopened in current Taiwanese society on transnational marriage and same-sex marriage debates, which are regarded as non-conforming marriages in a specific historical period. We argue that the hegemonic ideology of romantic love has produced a powerful exclusionary effect on cross-border marriages based on ethnic and class discrimination, but also an inclusive effect on same-sex marriage in present Taiwan society, which underscores the power of the discourse of love in modern Taiwanese social life. The love discourse can be progressive in a specific historical conjuncture, but it can also be regressive by excluding other forms of intimacy.

Language: en

Keywords

intimacy; love; non-conforming marriage